Upcoming concerts
Dax Riggs with Beaten Awake, 9:30 p.m. Saturday at Subterranean, 2011 W. North Ave., Chicago. $12. (773) 278-6600.
If you haven't yet heard of Deadboy and the Elephantmen, it's too late, considering that lead singer and guitarist Dax Riggs has moved on to a solo career that continues that band's swampy blues backdrop and groove-heavy feel. His solo debut, "We Sing of Only Blood or Love" (Fat Possum), happens to be one of the most hypnotic albums of this year. Riggs -- a South Louisiana resident -- creates dark moods and electrifying folk-blues laments.
Band of Horses with The Drones and Tyler Ramsey, 8 p.m. Sunday and 7 p.m. Monday at Metro, 3730 N. Clark St., Chicago. $19. (312) 559-1212.
The buzz band this season is Band of Horses that, judging by repeated listens to its excellent second album, "Cease to Begin" (Sub Pop), demonstrates they sound like a mixture of My Morning Jacket and The Shins. Working with Built to Spill producer Phil Ek, the new album immediately sounds warm, thanks to grandiose reverb, but also the heartfelt sentiments of lead singer Ben Bridwell and the music's crunchy and wide-opened country rock vibe.
Neil Young with Pegi Young and Anthony Crawford, 7:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at the Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St., Chicago. (312) 462-6300.
Reviews have already compared this current tour by Neil Young to "Rust Never Sleeps," his groundbreaking tour from 1979. Accompanied by his three long-standing sidemen -- pedal steel guitarist Ben Keith, bassist Rick Rosas and drummer Ralph Molina -- the veteran songwriter will perform an acoustic and full-band set featuring classics ("Heart of Gold"), oddities ("Ambulance Blues," "A Man Needs a Maid") from his vast catalog, and new songs from "Chrome Dreams II" (Reprise), a new album of both epic rock workouts and quiet country folk. Pegi Young, his wife, opens the night with songs from her recent debut.
Ralph Stanley and His Clinch Mountain Boys, 8 p.m. Thursday at FitzGeralds, 6615 Roosevelt Road, Berwyn. $25. (708) 788-2118.
The bluegrass innovator makes a rare Chicago appearance. In the Stanley Brothers, Ralph helped define the textures and lonesome feel of what would later be called bluegrass. He wrote the songs that became part of the music's canon and recently enjoyed a career revival thanks to his participation in the Coen Brothers film, "O Brother Where Art Thou?" Still a powerful singer and feisty bandleader, this is a chance to hear an American original up close.